Birthday with the Cullens
by EverlastingSonata
Summary: What if Alice never had the vision of the Volturi coming for them all? What if the very best friend you knew and trusted, wasn't who you thought they were?


**AN: Hey readers! This is my first fanfic on THIS site so I hope you all enjoy it!**

All related themes in this story belong to the mastermind behind all four book of the saga, Stephenie Meyer!!! *bows down in respect X3*

**Chapter 1**

**(Bella's POV)**

As the sun rose into the brightly lit sky, my mind was set on the day that was to come. Today was Renesmee's birthday: she was turning three-years-old, but in short it was just another day of her infinite existence. I was blessed to have such a wonderful daughter in my life. But most of all, I was truly blessed to have another wondrous being to love forever.

Edward.

He was my everything. The very reason for my existence, the one unique rose in my bouquet. Without him, my world would have no meaning. That thought sent a chill down my spine as I was briefly reminded of that year where he was no longer a part of my life, which then had pushed me into a never-ending pool of pure torture.

I shook myself back to reality and snuggled deeper within Edward's arms – which were wrapped around me.

"Bella? Are you alright, love?" Edward asked almost concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about today. That's all." I answered absentmindedly.

He chuckled quietly, "Are you worried that she won't be the same little girl you gave birth to three years ago?" he asked with a bit of amusement in his voice.

"No! Of course not," I snapped. "I'm just….."

His hand reached up to caress my cheek while tracing my jaw line. "What's bothering you then? You have to tell me. I can't read your mind like everybody else's and you know how it bothers me because of that. Please, tell me."

His anxious tone almost surprised me a bit. In truth, I wasn't actually sure what was bothering me. But there was a strange feeling somewhere deep inside me that was telling me that something unexpected was going to happen today, but I'm sure that it was just I making things up for no reason. Or was I? Hearing voices inside my head, never a good sign. I didn't want to cause Edward any worry, so I made up a reason.

"I'm just worried that Renesmee won't have a good time. She's not like most three-year-old remember. She might not like the same things as most human toddlers." I answered with a slight humor in my voice.

He laughed to himself, "Is that all? Bella, you worry too much of the most trivial things sometimes."

"Yeah, I know. Stupid isn't it?"

He smoothed down the hair at the back of my head in an attempt to soothe me, "Just a bit, but I know what can take your mind off of that. Why don't we go see what Alice has in store for us? I'm sure it'll definitely be what we won't expect it to be."

I had already imagined what a hectic mess it might be last night. I had pictured a flurry of large bows tied to every spot imaginable, balloons of every size and color placed everywhere around us. With Alice around, anything can be possible.

"Sure, let's go. Is it okay to leave Renesmee alone?" I asked.

Silence filled the room as Edward checked on the thoughts of the child in the room across the room from ours. "She's dead asleep in the next room. No pun intended. She should still be sleeping by the time we come back."

"Good. I'll check on her later just in case."

I opened the doors to the oversized walk-in wardrobe that Alice had Esme make for us when she built our home. I unzipped one of the garment bags to find a medium length blue dress made of silk.

-Sigh- Alice was going to pay for this one day. I quickly slipped on the dress and brushed through my hair, even though I looked perfectly fine. My hair didn't get tangled anymore. I guess I still had some human habits lying around.

*************************************

As Edward and I ran together, hand-in-hand, I couldn't help but get the feeling as if I was being watched from somewhere deep within the thick jungle of trees. But as we approached house with every stride, I pushed the thought away as I prepared myself for the impossible. The house was covered in a rain of balloons, streamers, and flower garlands. To make it even worst, there was a monstrous '_**Happy Birthday Renesmee!!!'**_ sign that was hung at the front of the house.

"Holy crap!" I exclaimed in shock. "What happened to this place?"

Just as I said that, the master behind this insanity waltzed over to us. A content look cemented on her face.

"Hey lovebirds! Like it?"

I was speechless for a second, but when I was finally able to get the words out of my mouth they sounded, in a way, unstable.

"It looks like a hurricane hit the house!" I exclaimed with laughter.

"A hurricane named Alice." Edward added in.

She rolled her eyes at us and shook her head in annoyance.

"By the way Bella, if you're planning to get Nessie a present anytime soon, you'd better go now before the guests arrive."

Ugh. Sometimes I really hated her ability to see into the future. She really should know when to keep the premonitions to herself. Though I should really thank her for bringing it up, I was having a little trouble myself. I had so many ideas for a gift, but I couldn't decide on a solid one.

"Well….since you can't decide, I think you should go with the gold bracelet with the name engravings. It's a keeper!" she suggested.

"Argh! Alice, keep out of my mind!" I scowled.

She laughed as she skipped back inside the house. She should be awarded the most annoying sister-in-law.

"Alice is right, Edward. I should really get going to Seattle if I want to get back here before the party starts. Could you stay here and make sure Alice doesn't go overboard?" I asked.

He wrapped both of his arms around me and pulled me to him. He gave me a quick peck on the lips before holding out a silvery key.

"Of course, anything to tap into the minds of others." he said, smiling my favorite smile. "But as a favor, would you please take the Ferrari out for a spin? It wouldn't hurt to test its limits every once in a while."

I sighed at the very thought of having to be seen with that car, but since I was pretty much in a rush today, I might as well give the car a try.

"Fine," I replied.

I snatched the keys out of his hand and ran to the garage. I spotted the red Ferrari in between Rosalie's _BMW_ and Emmett's _Jeep_, got in and shoved the key into the ignition. Before I knew it, I was headed out of the dirt path and out onto the paved highway.

As I drove, I felt as if I was being followed yet again. I scanned the passing trees with my impeccable peripheral vision, and saw absolutely nothing. Maybe I was just too stressed about something, but what I was stressed about, even my vampire mind, had no clue.

I arrived in Seattle in a matter of minutes. With a car as fast as the Ferrari, I could've gotten there in a matter of seconds if I had just stomped down on the pedal. I searched for the jewelry store where I got Esme's Christmas present, and entered through the automatic doors.

A young gentleman greeted me at one of the display tables. He had a broad British accent and wore a respectable suite. His widened eyes and accelerating heartbeat clearly stated the fact that he thought I was either a supermodel or a celebrity of some sort. I was getting used to it since everywhere I went with Edward, men were always staring abnormally long at me. It was funny how it always made Edward tense, he told me it was because he heard what they were thinking about me.

Men….

"Good morning Madame. Are you in need of any assistance?" the young gentleman asked politely.

"Actually I'm kind of in a rush," I explained. "I've already got an idea in mind but could you get it engraved by 12 o'clock this afternoon?"

The man paused for a second before replying. "I'm sure I could arrange for it to be done. I can have the jeweler get started on it right now if you'd like." he suggested.

"That'd be great! I can wait for a while."

"Perfect. I'll get the jeweler right on it. Where is this specific piece you had in mind?"

I remembered how the bracelet had looked like and located it in the glass case at the end of the line-up of tables.

"Ahh….you have good taste for quality Madame. I'll get right on it." said the man.

*************************************

It was 11:45 when I got out of the store. I paid the store clerk extra for getting it done early. As I walked to where I had my Ferrari parked safely and out of sight, I picked up a female voice that seemed to be talking to herself. I neared my parking space to find a girl, dressed in jeans and a jacket with a fur-rimmed hood with her schoolbag mounted on her back. She stood close to my car, peering through the windows.

"Excuse me? What are you doing?" I asked.

"Oh! I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry." she said with an apologetic look. "It's just that nowadays, cars can be made by fake manufacturers, so I thought I'd-"

"Make sure it was real?"I finished for her.

The girl's cheeks blushed a shade of tinted pink. "Sorry again. But….I'm curious, how did you get the real deal? Don't they usually cost over millions?"

I laughed to myself, hoping she wouldn't apologize again. "It's my boyfriend's car. His dad's practically a multi-millionaire, so they get a lot of pricey things."

'_Wow, can I lie or what?'_

She laughed along with me. Then, the strangest thing happened.

"B-B-Bella….Bella Swan? Is that really you?" she asked, unsure of her guess.

How did she know my name?

"Yeah, that's me. W-W-Who are you?" I said with a small stutter.

"It's me! Arial, remember? From your old school in Phoenix," she replied. "Of course, that was before you moved to Forks with your dad."

It was all coming back to me now. The old memories of my days back in Phoenix. I remembered Arial now. She used to be my best friend back in Phoenix Union High School. I had yet to unlock some unclear memories of my human life. I had lost some when I was transformed, but it was all of the unimportant memories.

"Arial…..wow! You've….changed! A lot! What are you doing here?"

"My dad's new job is located here in Seattle, so I thought I'd go for a walk in the streets to get to know this place a bit more." she explained while kicking a rock around on the sidewalk.

She offered to get me some coffee over at the Starbucks around the corner, and out of politeness I accepted. I bought a cup of coffee but wasn't planning on touching it. I pretended to take a sip every once in a while to keep up the human appearance. Arial kept on babbling about her life and what had happened after I left. As she kept babbling, I noticed something strange about her hair. Every time the wind blew her hair, it gave off the strangest scent ever. Her scent was tainted with a kind of antique relic scent. It smelled much like a museum after passing by a million artifacts.

Strange…..

Humans were supposed to smell strongly of blood and blood only. As the thought of blood passed in my mind, the venom in my mouth started to pool a bit. I stopped myself and concentrated on Arial's voice to distract myself. But then I noticed something different about that too. It sounded way too smooth for a human voice. Maybe even flawless at times when she articulated her words. This was getting suspicious.

'_Stop it Bella! You're making yourself paranoid here! There can't be something wrong with Arial. You haven't seen her in ages so you're probably not used to her change. Just relax yourself and keep pretending to listen.'_ I said to myself.

When I checked my watch and realized what time it was, I quickly excuse myself from our little reunion, explaining to her that I was late for an appointment with the doctor and that I had to head back to Forks so I wouldn't miss it. Wow, that's a dumb excuse.

"Hey can you pass me your number and address? I could ask my dad to drive to Forks and visit you every once in a while, when I don't have school that is. But only if it's alright with you." she suggested.

"Sure! No problem. I'm living with my boyfriend though so I'll pass you his address." I explained as I grabbed the pen and pad she handed me.

I scribbled the address and number quickly and headed towards my car. As I walked, I couldn't help but get the feeling that Arial wasn't who I thought she was. But with the same curious and energetic personality, I knew that I was wrong. So I got into my car and headed back to Forks.

*************************************

When I got back home, Edward stood in the garage and greeted me with a long kiss on the lips which lingered there for a second more before he wrapped his right arm around my waist and led me inside the house.

"Did you find what you were looking for love?" he asked adoringly.

I smiled as hugged him. "Yeah, I got something special."

His hand held mine while we walked side-by-side to the kitchen, where Rosalie had Renesmee in her arms and Esme was preparing for the arrival of the guests. Renesmee had a sippy cup in her hand, and inside of the cup held a nice amount of blood. I could smell it.

'_Don't even think about it!'_I told myself.

She placed her hand gently against Rose's cheek and Rose put her down. She leaped into my arms and placed her hand on my cheek. She flashed an image of me, lingering on my face. She wanted to know where I had been.

"I was in Seattle getting you a present sweetie. But I'm not giving it to you until the party." I explained to her. "But while I was in Seattle, I met someone I used to know when I lived in Phoenix." I was telling everyone in the room.

Esme was the first to answer, "Oh? Who was it dear?"

"It was my best friend Arial. We had a short catch-up period over at the Starbucks."

Just as I had mentioned that, I was reminded of that strange scent I had come across in Arial's hair. I decided not to mention it to the others. I didn't want them worrying for no reason.

An hour later, each of the invited guests arrived one after the other. They were all overwhelmed with the decorations as Edward and I had been, but most of all, they were all stunned by how much Renesmee had grown after just a year's mark. After all the greetings and conversations were passed by one another, Jasper and Emmett brought the _**human**_ hunting vampires to a city that was a good distance away from Forks, to hunt. As for us, my family hunted in the forest. Edward and I decided to take Renesmee on a hunting trip alone and hunt down some mountain lions (my favorite), and grizzly bears (Edward's favorite). She'd probably take a liking to something else while we hunted.

That was when I got the feeling that someone was running after me as I ran through the forest. Again, checking my surroundings, I couldn't see anything abnormal. By that point, I was pretty sure that I was letting the thirst get to me. So I had to find something to drink, and fast.

By the end of the hunting trip, Edward and Renesmee had hunted one grizzly bear and four enormously proportioned elks, while I had been lucky enough to find two mountain lions a bear and an elk.

I felt kind of sloshy on the inside, so I headed back to the house and waited for the others to get back.

When everyone got back to the house, we had decided to open the presents since Renesmee grew impatient. She's going to be one spoiled half-vampire/half-human child in the world.

The first couple of presents she opened were from the Nomads. They had all brought presents of all sorts from their travels. A series of books by famous poets like Mark Twain and Charles Baudelaire, hand- made clothing articles from different parts of the world, and many more. When it came to presents from our family, it was quite obvious that Rose and Alice had probably bought her designer clothing from some store in France or something along that line. When it came to my turn, I handed Renesmee the small silk pouch that held the bracelet I just got her.

She wore the bracelet on her left wrist and turned it around so that she could see the engravings. It was written : _**Love for all eternity ~ From Mummy and Daddy**_.

I was sure that she loved it, because she hadn't taken it off for the rest of the evening.

*************************************

When all of the guests had left, our family settled down in the living room. Everyone had a grand smile on their face, especially Renesmee. I picked the yawning toddler up and sat down on the long couch. Edward sat down beside me and stroked Renesmee's bronze-colored ringlets.

"Wow….that was a heck of a party, Alice! I still think you overdid the decorations by a lot." I said.

She stuck out her tongue and perched herself up on the couch's armrest. "Hey, like I always say. Waste not, want not."

"Hey Ed, I'll have to get you something 'special' for your birthday."Emmett said jokingly.

Edward glared at Emmett. He looked like he wanted to pounce him on the ground right there.

"Do you mind keeping your thoughts to yourself?" Edward asked with a scoff.

"Hey! I'm just being considerate. That's all!"

All of a sudden, all heads in the room turned to face the sound of several car doors slamming shut outside. Maybe it was an un-expected guest. Whoever it was, they didn't come alone. I stood up and listened closely to the number of footsteps that crossed the length of the car to the front door. Nine I presume. The footsteps were getting closer so it was easier to make out the number of people there.

"Was anyone expecting more guests to arrive?" Carlisle asked with concern.

No one said anything; therefore it probably meant that nobody had invited anyone else. Then it hit me. I remembered my friend Arial, but was it just by pure coincidence that she decided to come now? I felt suspicious so I put my nose to the test. Maybe I can identify the scent.

I inhaled a large amount of air – to my surprise, it really was Arial's scent. But, somehow it wasn't right yet again. This time, it was mixed with an inexplicable ash-like scent. Does she smoke?

"Carlisle, I think it might be my friend Arial. I did pass her our address; I think she's just coming to visit." I explained.

"I think that's highly unlikely. Is it coincidental that she would just pop in at a time like this just to visit? And to add to it, she's got an unnecessary amount of company. Something's not right there."

"That's true. But then, who are the other people that are-"

In a fraction of a second, Edward had placed himself in front of me in a defensive crouch with one hand pushing me behind him.

"Edward! What's going on?" I asked, confused by his sudden action.

"They're here, with the rest of their guards!" he exclaimed. "And I'm not about to let them get what they want. Bella, stay behind me!"

"Wait, what? I don't understand who's-"

"Go!" he urged me under his breath.

I backed up into the corner of the living room, where I stood with the rest of the family. I handed Renesmee over to Rosalie to be sure that nothing happened to her. Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle had taken their place beside Edward, ready for whatever was coming. Just then, the familiar scent hit my nose. Then I remembered where I had smelled this scent before.

"Well if it isn't our American friends!" a papery Italian voice exclaimed. "What a nice surprise! I did not expect it to be dear Renesmee's birthday. How rude of us not to bring a present!" the voice continued.

A tall man in a gray velvety cloak, with the hood up, stepped forward into the room. A growl started to build up in Edward's throat.

"Aro. Always nice to see you again." Carlisle said with a brief sarcasm.

Aro chuckled lightly. "I can see that the party is over. Well that's just too bad isn't it?"

"Yeah, too bad." Emmett replied with a grin.

Aro turned towards Alice. "Alice. Did you not see us coming?" he asked curiously. "Hmm, it would seem your power is vulnerable in some ways. I must congratulate you Arial on a job well done!"

"Thank you master," Arial replied. "I am glad to have done you proud."

Wait – did he just say Arial? Then that must've meant that she was a vampire too! I knew there was something suspicious about her. But how did she mask her features so well?

"Bella! Thank you for your help. Felix couldn't have found you without you giving me your address. Of course, he ended up losing track of you after you left Seattle in a hurry. But when I gave him your address, he was able to keep up with you again." she said with a small laugh.

That explained why I kept getting the feeling as if I was being followed the whole entire day. Felix had been following me around. Felix, who stood in the far back of the room, gave her a grimace. He didn't seem pleased to be noticed.

I struggled to get the words out of my mouth, but managed after a while. "H-H-How could I not see that you were a vampire? I mean, you looked so much like a human. It's impossible to hide it!" I exclaimed.

"Oh! My apologies! Did I not mention how I became this?" she said patting her chest. "You see, I was bitten by a vampire not long ago. But master found me in an alleyway and pitied me. He helped me discover what I had become." she continued. "I found out later that I was a vampire with an exceptional gift. I had the ability to tap into the minds of people and force them to obey just exactly what I want them to see, think, hear and smell." she explained. "Just as an example, I was able to make you think that I was your friend when in truth, I was a complete and total stranger who you never knew about."

That definitely explained a lot. That's why I couldn't figure out what was suspicious about her. It bothered me that all this had been happening and I didn't know it. But it bothered me the most how I thought Arial was my friend, even though she wasn't.

Arial made an attempt to approach me, but Edward growled loudly at her, which made her back up a few steps.

"Ooo, touchy!" Arial teased.

At that comment, Edward made a lunge for her but fell to his knees instead. He held his head in his hands. It was then when I realized that Jane was behind this. That malevolent angelic look on her face was really starting to get to me. I made an attempt to lunge at her, but her eyes widened as she focused her power on the rest of my family. All, except Renesmee, was on the ground with their heads held in pain. Alec walked over to the frightened Renesmee and picked her up. She attempted to wriggle free of his hold but stood no chance against his hold, for her strength hadn't fully developed yet.

It all happened so quickly. Before I knew it, Dimitri and Felix were at both of my side. They grabbed each arm and forced me down to the ground onto my knees. I looked up to see Aro approach me, he ran one of his fingers over my cheek once. I lowered my head as a growl ripped out of my throat at him. Demitri and Felix tightened their grip on me. Too bad I wasn't a newborn anymore; I could've thrown these two into the wall with one small flick of my arms.

"Tsktsk, Bella. It seems your so-called impenetrable shield isn't so impenetrable after all." he stated.

Another growl escaped my throat.

"Perhaps if you had just accepted my invitation to join my coven, maybe we wouldn't have to take her away from you like this." he said in a voice so ominous I wasn't sure if he was just doing this to make me angry or because he had to.

He turned around to face the doorway, as he signaled the rest of the unoccupied guards to disperse with a quick wave of his hand. "Alec, please take our new guest to the car. We will be preparing to leave shortly." he ordered in a friendly tone.

I looked up long enough to see Alec walk out of the door with my daughter in his arms, for what may have been the last time that he would ever walk through those doors again.

**______________________________________________________________________________**

**AN: Well, that's a sad ending don't you think? But worry not everyone, there's more to it! So keep reading! Plz comment and that way my stories will actually have a bright side to them. XD**


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